The Deer's Cry (Keltiad/Patricia Kennealy-Morrison)

Rating:
Summary: Pagan diatribe against Christianity.
Review: As much as I have enjoyed the saga of Keltia, particularly the tales of Aeron and Arthur, this book really turned me off. Kennealy-Morrison wanted the old religion to appear so much better than any other option around. However, she ended up sounding as didactic and intolerant as she accuses Catholicism of being.

Anyway, the story was okay, but not as riveting as some of her other books, certainly nothing in comparison to the Throne of Scone. It took too long to get away from Earth, and then didn't spend enough time in Keltia. I would have liked a lot more about Brendan's mother, Nia and for most of the supporting cast to have given a little more attention. If her books continue to be pagan propaganda, I'll stick with the first books and forget whatever else is planned. Which is too bad, because I have really enjoyed the Keltic saga until the past two books.

Rating:
Summary: disappointing in comparison with previous Keltiad books
Review: Enen though I am a devoted fan of PKM, I was left with a funny taste from this novel. What disappointed me was the very slanted view given of the early Christians in Britain. I'm sure all was not exactly the turn-the-other-cheek mentality, but I think the portrayal was unfair. Religious issues aside, this WAS a fabulous set-up for the Celts in space series to spring from these adventures. Since none of us was there to bear witness to what REALLY happened back then, I think the whole tale would have been better told with a little less prejudice.

Rating:
Summary: Recovering, but not there yet
Review: I have been an avid fan of the Keltiad since I first read The Copper Crown many years ago, and will probably continue to be. However, Blackmantle was quite disappointing, and The Deer's Cry was also definitely not one of the author's better efforts. I admit, I was somewhat uncomfortable with the vitriolic perspective on Christianity, but in all fairness, the Church has perpetrated some awful stuff over the centuries, and has usually been very successful in hushing it up, so it was very interesting to read a truly alternative perspective (even it did stir up some discomfort). My main beef with this book is one which has been evident in her others, but which is becoming more, rather than less, obvious: her characters are too black and white. They are either good/perfect/wonderful/admirable or evil/shallow minded/stupid. Let's face it: most of us are halfway in between the two. I think that Patraic would have been more believable had he been somewhat less hypocritical and less someone who deliberately and openly twisted facts for his own benefit (a religious fanatic who truly could not see the illogic of his beliefs is far more believable and would have achieved the same result); similarly Brendan would have generated more sympathy had the conflict been a little more evenly balanced. For one thing, if the conflict was as unsubtle as the author describes, why would the King and Queen have kept giving in to Patraic's demands? I think that the author's personal bitterness and anger is dominating more and more of her work, to its detriment.

Rating:
Summary: Unmitigated Bilge
Review: This book is racist and full of screeching dogma. It's also badly written, with clunky prose and eleven-line sentences. The action has a pace like continental drift.

The least we could hope for is an interesting way to be offended, but nope. Don't waste your money. No worry you'd waste your time, because it's unreadable.

Rating:
Summary: Unmitigated Bilge
Review: This book is racist and full of screeching dogma. It's also badly written, with clunky prose and eleven-line sentences. The action has a pace like continental drift.

The least we could hope for is an interesting way to be offended, but nope. Don't waste your money. No worry you'd waste your time, because it's unreadable.

Rating:
Summary: Sigh...
Review: This book's plot is original and intriguing! The characters are interesting! The writing style is quite pleasant! So why only two stars? Simple! Not my constant exclaimation points! It's because of the author's attitude!

The plot is probably well-known to anyone who would actually be checking these reviews-Brendan the Navigator, a man from ancient Ireland, clashes with Padraig (read: St. Patrick, St. Paddy, et cetera) when the Christian brings the new religion there. Brendan apparently feels that the time to go has come, and he and his fellow Celts (soon to be Kelts) leave the world. Literally.

I know pagans who were very respectful of my Christian beliefs and I of theirs. Ms. Keneally paints virtually all Christians in this as hypocrites, shriekers, shallow-minded types. Christianity itself has not been to blame for things like the Inquisition-atrocities done in the name of the religion by kings and lords are not CONDONED by the religion.

I am wondering why Ms. Keneally did this-I agree with the reader from Columbia, she sounds very intolerant.

That said and done, I liked the background for it-woowee! The idea of Celts attempting to preserve their culture by LEAVING EARTH is certainly one that I'd never have dreamed up. I liked the background on the Daanans, which was equally unique. I would have liked it if more time had been spent on the colonization, the feelings of the people there, their reactions to the changes, and so on.

With some changes, this fair book could be a GREAT book.

Rating:
Summary: A disappointment
Review: This is the lowest rating I have ever given a book. I never thought I'd be mean enough to give a book only one star, but this one deserves it. Deer's Cry has little in the way of plot and character but a lot of preaching on the virtues of paganism. It gets old fast. Whole chapters are spent on nothing but religious debates between St. Patrick and the pagan hero, Brendan, with not nearly enough explanation of such minor details as how the Kelts could go from Dark Age lack of science and technology to being able to pilot spaceships, which is supposedly the main premise of the book. The author glibly explains that the Sidhe taught them how, but she doesn't SHOW us this process, only tells us it occurred. I felt cheated. Another implausible thing is the way Brendan is shown as always winning those debates. How could Christianity have become dominant if the pagans were always able to make its proponents look like fools in public? It doesn't make any sense. I suspect the author is more interested in attempting to convert her readers to modern paganism than in writing a decent novel. I got very tired of reading scenes where the gods appear and lecture pompously for several pages. Whether you agree with her points or not, the style of delivery is a real turn-off.

Rating:
Summary: Good book, horrid cover
Review: When I fist saw this book in the bookstore, it was filed in the "Romance" section, due to the cover art. Like "Blackmantle" before it, it has those horrible bodice-ripper-style covers that cause it's target audience to overlook it and mistake it for romance. Heck, not even the bookstores seemed to be able to place it properly.

That being said, it's actually a fairly good, (if occasionally preachy), story about the Celtic, (later Keltic) immagration from Earth to escape the religious prosectution of "St." Patrick and his followers. (which even other Christians suffered from, as witness the group that flees with the Kelts when they escape the Celtic lands.)

The main weakness isn't really the fault of Patricia Kennealy-Morrison, but of the publishers. Mainly that it's too condensed. Originally meant as the first of a trilogy like her "Aeron" and "Arthur" series, it was rewritten as a stand-alone by decree of her publisher, who then dropped her like a hot potato, (a fate hurting many of the mid-range genre writers anymore.) It would be nice to see this book rewritten as the first of a trilogy - and in the hands of a publisher that *wants* to try and sell a book and pubicize an author. Patricia Kennealy-Morrison's too good of a writer to deserve this fate.

Rating:
Summary: Another fine tale!
Review: While I earnestly wished the book would have continued for another hundred pages, Patricia Kennealy-Morrison's latest novel in her Keltiad series is a joy to read. Told with passion, insight, and humor, "The Deer's Cry" paints a wonderfully detailed picture of the first Great Immram of the Kelts, when they leave Earth and seek out their new home.

While the portrayal of Patrick as a villain may be a shock to some, Kennealy-Morrison makes an effort to separate those Gaels who follow the teachings of Christ with an honest heart from those who are merely religious fanatics.

Buy this book and enjoy!